The thousands of runners in the start of the London Marathon on April 22 will have thousands of reasons for running.

Some will make you smile, some may bring a tear, and many may inspire you to take up the marathon next year.

Here, runners share their reason for running the Marathon.

John Morsley from Hayes prepares for his 12th Marathon

John Morsley, 57 ran his first marathon 15-years-ago and has no plans of stopping.

“I want to keep running into my 90s,” he told News Shopper.

“I am looking forward to it. It really is an adrenaline rush. There is nothing like it and it brings people together from all areas.”

John has raised over £25,000 for charity during his years running London Marathons.

This time (April 22) he is running for the Lord's Taverners, a charity dedicated to providing young disabled or disadvantaged children with sporting opportunities.

John has so far raised almost £1,000 of his £2,100 target.

The experienced runner said the support of his family and help from donators inspires him to keep challenging himself.

“My partner is fantastic, she supports me with lots of very good food. My personal trainer, Ali, is fantastic and offers masses of advice.

“She has trained me for years. She also boxes so that I’m sure to do what I’m told!”

He described marathon day as the closest feeling he will get to “playing 90 minutes at Wembley”.

John thanked everyone who has raised money for Lord’s Taverners so far, and said he wouldn’t run if it wasn’t for them.

He added: “If I’m able to raise funds and keep myself fit and healthy it’s great. People have given me lots of encouragement.

“Friends and colleagues donating have really pushed me along.”

Orpington woman who is running in memory of her late husband

Kirsty Aked, 32 is running in memory of Chris Aked, a professional golfer, passed away in September 2017 when his baby daughter was just eight months old.

Chris died five months after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.

Since then Kirsty has set up The Chris Aked Foundation, which offers children support after a family member is diagnosed.

Kirsty has already helped raise £40,000 for the newly registered charity.

She told News Shopper: “It has really taken off. Obviously it is a heart-breaking story, it hits home to anyone with kids.

“People appreciate there is a gap in support when kids have parents who are ill. There are lots of bereavement charities, but there is a gap for children who have an ill parent.”

On Sunday (April 15) Kirsty will run in the Brighton Marathon – two years after she ran it with Chris.

She said: “I don’t want to start crying when I see everyone as I run. Brighton is going to mean a lot. It will be the emotional one, but I am excited.”

The mum of one-year-old Freya described her husband as “the most determined person through is illness”.

She added: “Early diagnosis is key to survival and we need to encourage GPs to take symptoms seriously, even when the patient is a young person who they may not expect to have cancer. To discount those symptoms is to put lives at risk.”

One week after Brighton’s run, Kirsty will challenge herself with the London Marathon (April 22).

She said her family think she is “a bit nuts” but added that everyone has been supportive.

The Orpington Road Runner member said running gives her a mental outlet from a busy schedule.

To support or keep up to date with The Chris Aked Foundation, you can visit the website here https://www.chrisakedfoundation.co.uk/

Remembering her husband, Kirsty said: "He was a really nice and kind person. People liked him as soon as they met him. He always looked to better himself and wanted to help other people."

Here is the JustGiving link https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chrisakedarmy

Bexleyheath man with type 1 diabetes to run 25 marathons in a month

Gavin Griffiths, 26, is looking to raise a total of £10,000 for the League of DiAthletes programme, which he founded in 2012.

The programme aims to find ways to educate people about type 1 diabetes and support those who suffer from the condition across the world.

After being diagnosed with the illness at the age of eight, Mr Griffiths has dedicated his time to completing physical challenges to support diabetes research.

Mr Griffiths told News Shopper he struggled to adjust when he first found out he suffered from the illness.

“It was those early years that were hardest. It’s not something you expect to happen.

“It took about ten years before I really felt like myself again.”

He added the most difficult part of learning to cope with type 1 is the strain it puts on daily life.

“The hardest thing for me was going back to school [after diagnosis].”

He added: “When you’re diagnosed, the family also has to be diagnosed with you.”

But for the last ten years, Mr Griffiths has run a total of 2,200 miles to raise money and awareness of type 1 diabetes.

Referred to by many as a ‘DiAthlete’ himself, Mr Griffiths is now 25 physical challenges away from reaching 100 – so he decided to complete all 25 in one go.

“I think when I was a child I was dropped on my head,” he joked.

Starting today (April 13) in Margate, Mr Griffiths’ marathon mission will take him all over the country until he returns to London on May 13.

Along the way, he will be asking children who suffer from type 1 to keep him company for the odd mile, and teach them not to underestimate themselves.

“That bit will keep me running the next day,” Mr Griffiths told News Shopper.

Although he is taking on a huge physical feat, Mr Griffiths has never been one to let his condition affect his determination.

“There is no limit to what I can achieve,” he said.

Mr Griffiths will be equipped with a monitoring device to keep an eye on his glucose levels while he runs.

There is just one small problem he is slightly concerned about as he prepares to run 655 miles in 30 days – getting to the next start line on time.

Greenhithe woman running race for Brain Tumour Research

One Greenhithe resident is going to be taking on the London marathon despite not having run much before in memory of her best friend.

Alexandria Broad-Surry, 23, decided it was time to take on a challenge in memory of her great friend, Darel Bryan, who died in 2016.

Miss Broad Surry has lived in Darel’s flat in Empire Walk, Ingress Park, ever since he moved to East London, a year or so before he tragically passed away with a brain tumour aged just 34.

Now, the amateur runner will be dashing through the streets of the capital to raise money for brain tumour research.

Darel, a former Greenwich University student, was an otherwise fit and healthy 33-year-old before he was diagnosed with several tumours after he had a seizure at work.

Miss Broad-Surry said: “I met Darel after first meeting his partner Natalie, who was my manager when we were both working at Golden Square Post Production in 2010. I have never met anyone like Darel and Natalie – they were the perfect couple. We soon became very good friends, calling ourselves ‘The Three Musketeers’.

"We often went away for weekends together clubbing and to festivals to follow our favourite DJs. We also would go on holiday together to places like Ibiza and Croatia, where we enjoyed our time dancing as music was a great passion that the three of us shared.

“I was so shocked when Natalie phoned to tell me Darel had brain tumours. He was so fit and strong – a keen football player who played every week for his local team in the Sunday league. So why would he get a tumour? There is little known about this disease, so it’s important to me to do what I can and help raise funds for research."

A biopsy confirmed that the tumours were grade 4, meaning cancerous.

Because of their location surgery wasn’t suitable, so Darel underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.

Natalie, 34, of Bow, said: “Darel endured six weeks of radiotherapy, 12 months of five different chemotherapies, two surgeries, over five months of hospital stays and every alternative and natural treatment we could lay our hands on, but his battle was never one he was going to win.

“I am extremely grateful to Alex for her continuing support and for taking on the London Marathon in Darel’s name.”

Since signing up for the London Marathon, Alex’s father, Robert Surry of Longfield, has been diagnosed with lung cancer and a brain tumour at Darent Valley Hospital and has undergone cyber knife radiotherapy at The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea.

Miss Broad-Surry said: "This has given me a real kick to take my marathon challenge even more seriously. I will run, I will walk, I will dance and I will cry… but I will make it to the finish line. I’m doing it for Darel and my dad.”

By running the marathon, Alex will be raising money for Brain Tumour Research.

Janice Wright, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research said: "“For too long, brain tumours have been a neglected cancer. Experiences like Darel’s remind us all that we cannot allow this desperate situation to continue. We are extremely grateful to Alex for her support and are appealing for runners who have a ballot place for the marathon to join her on Team Brain Tumour Research by nominating us as their chosen charity for 2018. Together we will find a cure.”

London Bridge terror attack hero PC from Bexley to run London Marathon

A policeman who took on knife-wielding jihadists in the London Bridge terror attack has spoken of his determination to repay the hospital that saved him – by running the London Marathon.

Charlie Guenigault was off-duty and unarmed when he crossed the path of a trio of rampaging killers last June, risking his life in an effort to stop the massacre which left eight people dead and another 48 injured.

The Pc was seriously injured after being stabbed five times, but is now preparing to run 26.2 miles through the streets he almost died protecting.

The 26-year-old, from Bexley, south London, will be fundraising for the King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, where he spent 70 days, undergoing five operations.

He told the Press Association that the prospect of long-distance running was hard to imagine last summer.

“I think, if anything, I was just glad to be alive, rather than being at the point of running at all,” he said.

The officer expressed hope that the story of his return from the brink can serve as an inspiration to others.

He added: “I’m running for King’s College Hospital charity, which is where I was treated.

“I wanted to show how much our doctors and NHS and all the staff do to help us, and the support they need as well.

“Initially, it was the people who saved my life on that night and then making sure you are OK all the time, it was pretty much, anything you needed, they helped you with.”

Mr Guenigault suffers long-lasting health problems resulting from his clash with the London Bridge attackers and has taken penicillin twice daily since his spleen was removed.

Despite the physical burden he now bears, his resolve to intervene that night has not diminished with the passing of time.

He said: “If what I knew at the time … I didn’t know that was happening … I would still do the same

“Looking back at it, you obviously think that wasn’t the best idea, but then again my thought is – if I didn’t do anything, what could have happened?

“The thought of not doing anything is worse than doing something.”

The officer left hospital 13 days after the atrocity and even managed to join crowds for a weekend at Glastonbury festival, but an infection picked up from surgery meant he spent eight more weeks in the wards.

He bears a huge scar from where doctors had to drain fluid from his chest cavity, which was followed by procedures to operate on his lungs and then a hole in his stomach.

By September, the officer had remarkably returned to running, having first completed the London Marathon earlier in the year.

He said: “I’m still building up now definitely, you still feel the pain internally, mainly from the surgery – it’s more a nagging pain than a really hurting sort of pain.

Emergency personnel tending to the wounded on London Bridge in the aftermath of the attack last year Emergency personnel tending to the wounded on London Bridge in the aftermath of the attack last year

“Apart from that, it’s just scars really, and getting myself as physically fit as possible.

“I would say training is definitely harder this year and because I’m not back at work I don’t have a routine going.

“I will go back to work, I will go back to where I was in the same borough – Southwark – and doing what I do.”

Mr Guenigault said he has largely escaped trauma and is relishing the opportunity to see Londoners turn out for race day.

“This is a positive thing, it shows that hundreds of thousands of people will come out from their homes, they will come out from all parts of the country and the world to come and see, not just London itself, but the community and how everyone can get behind each other and support each other.”

The Metropolitan Police officer can be sponsored at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=charlieguenigault&pageUrl=4